An Ottawa police constable who underwent six surgeries after a serious crash in August 2012 ran 100 kilometres on Saturday, from the nation's capital to Montebello, Que.

Const. Sylvie Reaney was hit by a pickup truck while running along Wellington Street in Ottawa on her way back to the police station.

The crash broke both her kneecaps, shattered her wrist, fractured her skull, broke her nose, shattered her cheekbone and caused other serious head injuries.

On Saturday, two years and six surgeries later, Reaney's goal was to run 100 kilometres from Ottawa to Montebello — her longest run ever — to raise money to help end children's cancer.

"My surgeon is totally blown away that I'm even running 5 kilometres, let alone 100 kilometres," she said before her run, which began at about 7 a.m. ET and is expected to end about 13 hours later.

To put this feat into perspective, the traditional marathon runs about 42 kilometres. Reaney normally runs 50 kilometres — or a marathon and a half — but she wanted to test herself in the 100-km ultramarathon, which is recognized as the longest set distance for a running event.

Colleagues just happy she's alive

Her colleague and friend, Const. Nicole Gorham, admitted many fellow officers were just happy to see Reaney alive after the crash. She spent three months in hospital, in a wheelchair, then began to run again before a year passed.

"But fast forward to now, it's just been unbelievable," Gorham said.

​Reaney has spent time with a group of "ultra runners" with the team GoodGuysTri, as well as running with a new coach. Running instructor Michael Stashin said the further Reaney runs, the further she moves past the crash.

"I think it took me a good two-and-a-half months before I actually cried and realized the severity of [the crash]," Reaney said, "But I was so determined to get my life back."